If you love the great outdoors head straight for Switzerland's snow-capped
Alps, rippling mountain-framed lakes and winding meadow trails. Take France,
Italy and Germany's best bits, mix them all together and you'll soon
see why people return to Switzerland again and again. Head to Switzerland's
picturesque towns to sip coffee and people-watch on historic squares, surrounded by
Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
Background
Switzerland is a nature-loving land with two-thirds of the country covered by the
Alps. You'll find unspoilt forests wherever you go and pristine
lakes in central Switzerland, around Lucerne. But this is no wilderness
– Switzerland is highly developed and prosperous, a centre of banking and
insurance. You'll soon realise that Switzerland is less like a single
country and more like a mosaic of several. Head south-west towards Geneva for
French-speaking Switzerland and south for Italian flair. The rest is mainly
German-speaking, including Switzerland's largest city, Zurich, and
capital Bern. Everywhere you'll find flower-decked picture-book villages with
colourful local traditions.
Urban
The majority of Switzerland's population lives in towns along the fertile
lowland strip between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance. At the western
end you'll find French-speaking Geneva and at the eastern end German-speaking
Zurich with its distinctive twin-spired Grossmünster
church. Between the two you can visit the 12th-century moated Swiss capital,
Bern, for a science lesson at the Einstein House or to snap the
medieval city-symbol Zytglogge clock tower. Switzerland's main cultural
centre is Basel, packed with art museums in Switzerland's north-west
corner.
Rural
In the north-west, visit the River Rhine's oldest Roman ruins of
Augusta Raurica near Augst. Catch ferries across
Switzerland's crescent-shaped Lake Geneva, narrow Lake Zurich
and Lake Lucerne, tucked between soaring limestone mountains. Further south
climb the High Alps for some of the world's best-known ski resorts including
Davos and St Moritz. If you're not one for heights stick
to Switzerland's lush green meadows, trickling sparkling streams and the
gentle sound of tinkling cowbells.
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